Bike I am so pleased you got a bike! I LOVE biking! We call your kind of bike a beach cruiser so you are "in style" for San Diego! Have fun. Maybe you want to tour with us in August?
I was in a good mood It was a good thing I was in a good mood and that this was the first time this guy had driven for me. He was trying hard, but how in the world we could get that lost and have to go back to Moscow to get home, I have no idea!
WOW This is one of the funniest blog entries I have read in a while.... reminds me of our trips to Vegas and Aspen. And you say I was a bad navigator. LMAO
Medvedev Lays Out Anti-Graft Steps From Friday, March 28, 2008 Moscow Times, "President-elect Dmitry Medvedev ordered anti-corruption steps to protect small businesses Thursday....Arbitrary inspections by officals - from fireman to the polic - are often an excuse to extort bribes from small firms and must halt, Medvedev told a State Council meeting in Tobolsk. 'This proposal might leave some officials from the fire, sanitary services and police...close to a heart attack, because this is what they make money on - both officially and illegally,' Medvedev told the council."
Senator Sergey Lisovsky: This country’s current policies boost agricultural imports Moscow, 11 March./"FC-Novosti" Anna Kozyreva/. Sergey Lisovsky, is the Deputy Chairman of the Federation Council Committee for Agro-Food Polices and Fisheries Industry and in this interview with FC-Novosti he said, "The growth in imports can be explained by several reasons. Firstly, it is the corruption of our officials. Importers pay them for concluded contracts, unlike domestic producers. Secondly, the Finance Ministry finds it more advantageous to collect customs fees than taxes. The point is that customs fees constitute almost 50 percent of the budget’s revenue structure, mainly due to its import component."
The Moscow Times This was published in The Moscow Times, Monday, March 24, 2008 in the article called Red Tape, Corruption Seen Hampering Stores. "Red tape, corruption and the sheer size of Russia are among the main barriers facing retailers and producers of consumer goods in the country, according to the PricewaterhouseCoopers....Corruption, which is everywhere, is in retail as well."
This does not mean I do not want to be here or that someone should not look to do business here, it is a huge and growing econmony, but just be aware of the risks.
You Could be Right I did not personally confirm the information or article but the article did come from a reliable source. I have been here two years and I have seen some of these, but not necessary to the level indicated in this article or at least not first hand to these levels. I do know it costs 2-3 times higher than it should to get anything built here and the money is going somewhere.
I also know you can ride the train for "free" and if caught simply pay a "maintenance fee" or violate a traffic law and only pay a "maintenance fee." So each of us are different, raised with different values. It does not make one of right and/or wrong, but just different. I am glad you did not experience any of these and do not have anything bad to say about the Russian system. As for me, I feel there is some truth to the article, but at the same time, it is not so bad because I am still here and working.
Thank you for your comments - I do appreciate it and also appreciate someone questioning information and not just taking it for granted. Are you still living in Russia? Has this been home all of your life? Again, thank you for your comments/concerns with the posting!
Looks like a bad joke. From my personal experience ##4, 5, 6, 8 and 9 are just totally wrong. At least I've never heard about that and sure enough never paid anything to anyone. Spend there 5 years running a small business. It was tough but... isn't it anywhere? Nothing special about that in Russia.
Prague Prague is a popular and favorite city for those-who-travel. It's fantastic that it's in your back yard, so to speak. And how cool are you to be able to say "yes, my FAVorite city is DEFinitely Prague dahling". Someday I will get there. Sigh.
Beautiful pictures! Such beautiful pictures - again! I can't imagine how many hundreds or thousands of pictures you've taken since you've been there but thanks for sharing them with us! I saw Margaret Burton a couple of weeks ago. She was doing an audit in one of our plants and I was there for a customer cutting. It was nice seeing her again and, of course, we talked about you and your amazing travels!
Bribes I've heard for years - since Russia tore down the wall - that the mob was running things and that bribes were the rule of thumb. I would never have guessed the extent...I mean, CHARITIES? We all complain about our country, but this is just one small example of how good we've got it.
Yes I tried to post some pictures from their website but they were too small for the travelblog to accept them. Yes, they are the ones that I gave at Christmas and match the hand towels you made for everyone.
picture The article about the pottery was very interesting but you didn't post a picture of the pottery. does it look like the ones you brought home at Christmas?
Thanks for Asking At least you asked, thank you! Not trying to be dumb, if there were no time for negotiations, what did you do there for two days? I thought that was the purpose of your visit?
Shanghai staying I'm back! =)
Chinese will conquer the world! Shanghai is very nice city, very clean. BTW We didn't have enough time for negotiation, so, we asked our boss to stay longer - answer was NO. as we thought before ---> No surprise, u see.
Always Looking I am always looking for new places to visit/go. It may not be so easy with the new Russian visa process. I am here on a business visa but this year I have to get a work visa and the biggest problem is it is only a single entry for 90 days so once I get it, I will have to stay within Russia for 90 days or if I were to leave, I would have to stay out for 90 days before coming back. Thanks for the link.
Cathedrals I came across an article on a MSNBC website today about great European Cathedrals and I immediately thought of you. Not sure what your connectivity there is but here's the website: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23170569/ There's a slideshow link about halfway through the article. These are gorgeous and may give you future places to visit!
He-he-he Vince,
be careful, every Obninsk English language teacher may target u to train her English ;) Speak Russian only ! (except when u r with friends) =)
Freddie team's place is 4 (of 8). =)
I did not know I did not know you wanted to go with us. They actually had a great hill for beginners and would have been great to learn on. They also had what looked like good ski instructors. No, it was not just for "pros", it was open to anyone. Sorry, I will make sure to let you know the next time we go.
I changed my portrait from my lastest picture from Tokyo where I saw ZED by Cirque du Soleil and even go to meet ZED.
Summer has pasted and now it is winter here in cold dark (short days with little sunshine) Russia. For those that did not hear, I signed on for another year so I will be living here in Obninsk until January 2009.
It is finally summer here in Russian so thought I would change the picture. Enjoy the stories, adventures, blunders, etc. as I live and work in Russia.
I do not want to loose any of my emails and stories, so I am just going to add to this existing one. ... full info
Jamie
non-member comment
Purple bikes ROCK !!!!!
So this is not as GRANDPA as I had imagined. Not a bad bike for you to tag along with the gang in Russia.